Cypress Debuts Reliable, Secure Fingerprint Sensing Solution for Mobile Devices Through Its Strategic Partnership with IDEX ASA
Easy-to-Use, Customizable TrueTouch® Fingerprint Reader Provides Fast Time-to-Market
And Product Differentiation; Delivers Leading Fingerprint Image Quality and Pattern Matching
BARCELONA, Spain — Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY), in conjunction with its strategic partner IDEX ASA, today introduced a fingerprint reader solution designed to bring reliable, easy-to-use user authentication to smartphones, tablets, wearables and other mobile devices. The TrueTouch® Fingerprint Reader uses proprietary sensing circuitry and a unique touch sensor design to provide best-in-class fingerprint image quality and pattern matching accuracy—improving security and delivering a superior user experience. The flexible solution enables designers to create custom home buttons with specialized shapes and sizes or to integrate the sensor into any mobile device’s industrial design or home button.
Consumers have increasingly embraced fingerprint readers as an alternative to keying in complex usernames, PINs and passwords. Mobile device OEMs and companies that sell via the Internet have gravitated toward the technology as the most secure way to validate a user’s identity. Demand for fingerprint readers in mobile devices is forecast to grow at a compound annual rate of 47% through 2019, reaching annual shipments of more than 700 million units.
Cypress will showcase its TrueTouch Fingerprint Reader, along with its extensive portfolio of capacitive touchscreen and touch-sensing solutions, at Mobile World Congress 2015 from March 2-5 in Hall 2, Stand 2C26MR at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona.
The TrueTouch Fingerprint Reader leverages IP from Oslo, Norway-based IDEX ASA. Cypress announced a strategic partnership with IDEX last year, enabling it to add IDEX’s patented SmartFinger™ fingerprint sensing technology to its extensive portfolio of capacitive touch-sensing solutions. IDEX IP, plus the ability to work with IDEX’s qualified sensor partners, will provide Cypress with immediate access to a broad range of global markets.
“The barriers to entry are considerable in the emerging market for fingerprint readers, in part because of the highly specialized IP and complete solution that is required to compete,” said T.J. Rodgers, President and CEO of Cypress. “Our relationship with IDEX will enable us to provide our top-tier mobile customers with a globally deployable fingerprint sensing solution, including a sensor, Android drivers and a software stack. With our industry-leading CapSense® capacitive touch-sensing controllers, and our TrueTouch touchscreen solutions, Cypress will have an unmatched portfolio for mobile user interfaces.”
“We are extremely pleased with the performance of our new generation touch sensor developed in record time through our partnership with Cypress,” said Dr. Hemant Mardia, CEO of IDEX ASA. “The combination of IDEX's breakthrough imaging performance, matching algorithm and patented sensor IP with Cypress’s award-winning programmable system-on-chip technology delivers best in class fingerprint matching. This product has been designed based on fundamentally new technology to meet our OEM customers’ demands for usability and security strength from small touch sensors."
FIDO and Software Support
Cypress is a member of the Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) Alliance, an industry consortium developing standards-based specifications for universal authentication methods. Cypress shares the Alliance’s vision to define and deploy a more secure, private and convenient experience for mobile device users. FIDO-enabled biometric user authentication protects sensitive information and eliminates the need for inconvenient passwords. The TrueTouch Fingerprint Reader solution for the Android OS comes complete with the sensor, compatible SPI drivers, and the FIDO enabled authentication software stack. OEMs have access to Cypress's extensive customer support, testing and usability tools, and integration expertise to rapidly create custom designs.
Touch Leadership
Cypress's touch-sensing portfolio is the industry's broadest and most well-adopted, including TrueTouch, CapSense and trackpad solutions. The company's IP portfolio is unmatched, including true single-layer sensor solutions for dramatically reduced touchscreen costs and self-and mutual-capacitance sensing on the same chip that enables advanced features such as noise immunity, waterproofing, proximity sensing, passive stylus support and hover.
About IDEX
IDEX ASA specialises in fingerprint imaging and recognition technology. The company has a strong patent portfolio consisting of more than 24 patent families including more than 215 granted patents, as well as cross licenses with Apple. IDEX has a highly competitive product road map including swipe sensors, touch sensors with disruptive cost positions, and a unique in-glass solution. The company is currently commercializing the products. IDEX's addressable market represents a multi-billion unit opportunity, centred on three core markets: Mobile, ID Smart Cards and the Internet of Things. IDEX has seen a substantial increase in interest from global OEMs in the last quarters, and is positioned as of three independent players with the relevant IP to capture market share. IDEX ASA (ticker IDEX) is a Norwegian public company listed at the Oslo Axess market place on the Oslo Børs (Oslo stock exchange). For more information, please visit www.idex.no or contact IDEX at mailbox@idex.no.
About Cypress
Cypress delivers high-performance, mixed-signal, programmable solutions that provide customers with rapid time-to-market and exceptional system value. Cypress offerings include the flagship PSoC® 1, PSoC 3, PSoC 4 and PSoC 5LP programmable system-on-chip families. Cypress is the world leader in capacitive user interface solutions including CapSense touch sensing, TrueTouch touchscreens, and trackpad solutions for notebook PCs and peripherals. Cypress is a world leader in USB controllers, which enhance connectivity and performance in a wide range of consumer and industrial products. Cypress is also the world leader in SRAM and nonvolatile RAM memories. Cypress serves numerous major markets, including consumer, mobile handsets, computation, data communications, automotive, industrial and military. Cypress trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol CY. Visit Cypress online at www.cypress.com.
Cypress, the Cypress logo, TrueTouch, PSoC, and CapSense are registered trademarks of Cypress Semiconductor Corp. All other trademarks are property of their owners.
Contact:
Samer Bahou
Cypress PR
(408) 232-4552
samer.bahou@cypress.com
